| Abstract [eng] |
This thesis aims to reveal the attitudes of emerging technology developers belonging to informal online communities towards the intellectual property infringements. Until now similar research has been conducted on the communities of “hackers” and “pirates”. However, there are no studies on the attitudes, motivations and intellectual property infringement practices of emerging technology developers, although the literature analysis shows that intellectual property rights protection has a significant impact on the development of the emerging technologies, and vice versa. Analysis of literature on the relationship between intellectual property and emerging technologies showed that the current system of intellectual property rights does not respond to the challenges brought by the emerging technologies and may restrict their development. The shortcomings of the intellectual property system and the values of open science and freedom of information, adopted from the "hacker" subculture has an impact on the attitudes of emerging technology developers belonging to informal communities regarding the intellectual property and its infringements. An empirical study of eight informal emerging technology communities in the fields of biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things, conducted using a qualitative content analysis, revealed a wide range of approaches to intellectual property infringements, from denial of intellectual property rights to strong defense thereof. Attitudes towards intellectual property infringements depend on the personal beliefs about intellectual property, the values of the particular community, the type of infringement, the type of infringer, and on who owns the intellectual property. The prevailing approach in the examined communities was a pragmatic one - infringements are justified when committed by a member of the same community against the rights of a commercial enterprise, and condemned when the infringement concerns the intellectual property rights owned by the person himself or by another member of the community. |
